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up to some powerful pounding". However, Crowther noted that the sudden onset of racial tensions in a town that purportedly never had any trouble between blacks and whites before strained credibility: "Prejudice and antagonism are arbitrarily and recklessly assumed and portrayed in a manner which appears less calculated to understand society than to create an effect. And then, when it is discovered that the missing child is at the bottom of an abandoned well, the authors have swiftly relaxed the racial tension just as arbitrarily as they have turned it on".
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537:'s pounding musical score, as the workers sink the rescue shaft. This review also credited the use of unknown actors and ordinary citizens in the final scenes to provide "realistic power". The operators of the heavy equipment were all equipment operators by profession, while residents of the town in which the final scenes were filmed were employed as extras in the large crowd.
277:, which is reported among the white population as a racial attack. Things quickly get out of hand as various gangs of black and white residents start attacking one another. The sheriff requests that the mayor order state assistance to put down the potentially serious disturbances and readies voluntary deputies to break up the growing white mob at Sam's warehouse.
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also praised the production, writing: "A taut and absorbing exposition of human compassion and energy brought to bear upon a critical job of rescuing a little girl from an abandoned well impels to a pulse-quickening climax a middling social drama". He also praised the "third-string cast which stands
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commended the first half of the film for its depiction of race relations in a small town, but regarding the second half, in which blacks and whites come together to await the child's rescue, it stated: "It still grips, but in a more overtly crowd-pleasing way". The review also singled out
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praised the film for its "high drama and suspense". It credited the screenwriters for adapting the Kathy Fiscus case and changing the race of the girl to Negro, calling this decision "unusually well handled". The review also commended the cast as being "uniformly strong".
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somewhat dated, it actually holds up much better than many other 'socially conscious' films of the period (or of many other periods, for that matter)." He also discussed the casting: "The cast includes some professionals (such as a very good
273:), a well-known local businessman, who attempts to use his influence to get his nephew out of police custody. This inflames the racial tension further, and when Sam is accosted by Carolyn's relatives outside the police station, he suffers a
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The plot centers around the disappearance of
Carolyn, a five-year-old black girl who falls into an abandoned, overgrown well while picking flowers on her way to school one morning. Her parents seek assistance from Sheriff Ben Kellogg
262:) to help find her. Carolyn's disappearance causes anger and confusion in the community, and various rumors quickly spread among the white and black populations when a white stranger, Claude Packard (
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review noted that the film, which it called "ersely written, unflinchingly directed, expertly played by a cast boasting no 'big' names ... underscores the value of an independent producer".
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Before events can spiral completely out of control, Carolyn is found alive in the well but can't be easily extracted. It takes the efforts of Sam's construction crew to sink a parallel
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The film was named best picture of the year by the PittsC, an
African-American newspaper. It also won a special midseason citation from the Foreign Language Press Film Critics Circle.
485:, that its deliberations were ongoing due to "the presence of Negro characters in the plot". The Ohio Film Censor Board finally approved the film in February 1952.
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Writing in 2020, critic Craig Butler believes the film's social message holds up by modern-day standards. He wrote: "Although modern audiences are likely to find
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was reportedly interested in bringing the story to the screen, but producer Harry M. Popkin sought to do it first. Wilder went on to make
599:: The Robert Meltzer Award (Screenplay Dealing Most Ably with Problems of the American Scene) - Russell Rouse and Clarence Greene; 1952.
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562:) but also a number of non-pros; the latter may lack polish, but there's an energy to their work that is appropriate to the project".
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The film, produced on a modest budget of $ 450,000, largely featured unknown actors, with the exception of
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The film was released to DVD by Image
Entertainment on February 20, 2007, as a Region 1 fullscreen DVD.
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860:"THE SCREEN IN REVIEW; The Well,' Absorbing Study of Human Compassion, Is New Feature at Loew's State"
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was released in the United States on
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Claude, a mining engineer, is in town visiting his uncle, Sam
Packard (
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The script writers researched and incorporated factual material from
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information site and DVD review at DVD Beaver (includes images)
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410:, the film was the first successful screenwriting effort for
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737:"Funeral of Richard Rauber, Actor, Arranged Here Monday"
593:: Best Motion Picture Score - Dimitri Tiomkin; 1952.
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that had broken out in
American cities, such as the
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1230:Films about racism in the United States
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704:Tinee, Mae (October 21, 1951).
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585:Best Original Screenplay
583:- Chester W. Schaeffer;
464:Grass Valley, California
401:which claimed 34 lives.
351:as Deputy Mickey McClure
243:Best Original Screenplay
129:Harry Popkin Productions
1215:American thriller films
680:American Film Institute
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946:Butler, Craig (2020).
858:(September 27, 1951).
742:Democrat and Chronicle
399:1943 Detroit race riot
297:as Sheriff Ben Kellogg
1146:A House Is Not a Home
1122:The Fastest Gun Alive
1114:New York Confidential
1255:1950s American films
1245:United Artists films
1200:1950s thriller films
161: (United States)
804:. December 31, 1950
235:collective behavior
209:is a 1951 American
1138:Thunder in the Sun
1076:Films directed by
1017:TCM Movie Database
893:Detroit Free Press
865:The New York Times
776:: 55. May 25, 1998
530:Detroit Free Press
516:The New York Times
306:as Martha Crawford
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948:"The Well (1951)"
672:"The Well (1951)"
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676:AFI Catalog
571:Nominations
436:Barry Kelly
362:Development
65:Produced by
39:Directed by
1185:1951 films
1179:Categories
919:"The Well"
796:"The Well"
639:References
607:Home media
479:Cincinnati
460:Marysville
432:Tom Powers
395:race riots
357:Production
322:Tom Powers
211:drama film
174:86 minutes
157:1951-09-10
120:Production
1220:Film noir
1154:The Oscar
1098:The Thief
957:August 9,
931:March 13,
871:August 9,
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780:March 13,
686:March 13,
629:film noir
566:Accolades
489:Reception
440:film noir
198:$ 450,000
122:companies
99:Edited by
1090:The Well
1039:The Well
1023:The Well
1012:The Well
1006:AllMovie
1001:The Well
990:The Well
977:The Well
952:AllMovie
924:Time Out
555:The Well
542:Time Out
475:The Well
444:The Well
336:as Casey
330:as Wylie
206:The Well
187:Language
109:Music by
75:Starring
22:The Well
1015:at the
980:at the
801:Variety
500:Variety
470:Release
454:Filming
418:Casting
190:English
179:Country
155: (
1165:(1967)
1157:(1966)
1149:(1964)
1141:(1959)
1133:(1957)
1125:(1956)
1117:(1955)
1109:(1953)
1101:(1952)
1093:(1951)
927:. 2020
682:. 2019
434:, and
195:Budget
615:Notes
282:shaft
995:IMDb
959:2013
933:2020
873:2013
810:2020
782:2020
688:2020
527:The
462:and
288:Cast
253:Plot
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